Roger Harper, the Kenya coach, has stated that the country has a lot more work to do before they can return to international cricket. Harper, who was appointed Kenya’s coach in January 2006 shortly after the country was stripped of its international status, acknowledged the pool of talent that exists in the region, but cited the endless one-day matches as a potential crippling factor to the future development.”There is no doubt that there is a lot of talent in Kenya,” said Harper at an awards ceremony on Saturday. “It is not enough to have the talent alone. A lot of work has to be done.”Kenya has to show it is the best associate member both in the short and long version of the game and unless the players get used to playing longer cricket, it will be difficult to compete at the international level.”Harper, 42, has already led the team to two international tours of Zimbabwe and Bangladesh and in the drawn ICC Intercontinental Cup match against Holland in Nairobi. Kenya are to host the Atul Shah Memorial Cup in June, a tournament involving Kenya A, Uganda, Tanzania and a Coast XI to be held in Mombasa.

Scorecard
Final points tables

Half centuries from Mal Loye and Stuart Law guided Lancashire into the C&G final although not without the occasional nervy moment against Warwickshire. Derbyshire’s last-gasp win over Durham eventually made this result academic, but this wasn’t known until Edgbaston had finished. Chasing 250, Loye launched the chase with a thunderous 60 but wickets fell at regular intervals and it needed a calm stand between the old pro, Dominic Cork, and young rookie, Steven Croft, to take Lancashire home.Lancashire had earlier bowled and fielded tightly to restrict Warwickshire on a decent batting surface – held together with a new-style glue on the surface – and with one very short boundary. The two spinners, Gary Keedy and Simon Marshall, were effective in restricting the scoring rate but Jonathan Trott lifted the total to respectable levels.But 249 was being made to look rather insignificant when Loye launched the run chase in a blaze of boundaries. He smashed four massive sixes over the legside using his trademark sweep, down on one knee, against the seamers. With England going through a prolonged slump in one-day cricket, batting with this power continues to push Loye’s claims for international selection. As far as this match was concerned the early blitz ensured Lancashire were always ahead of the rate, however things didn’t always go their way.Heath Streak, who didn’t take the new ball, removed Mark Chilton with his first delivery then trapped Nathan Astle, making his Lancashire debut, lbw to remove two senior batsman from a Lancashire order than also included plenty of youngsters. But Law, at No.4, is a player who has certainly ‘been there and done that’ and brought a calm influence to proceedings.Loye’s fireworks were ended by Neil Carter, but the batsmen continued to push on at more than a run-a-ball. Gareth Cross, Lancashire’s reserve wicketkeeper for the injured Luke Sutton, contributed 20 off 14 balls as Law soaked up the pressure. He stroked ten classical boundaries, but when he fell to Nick James, the England Under-19 left-arm spinner, Lancashire’s progression was still not certain.Cork, though, enjoys nothing more than the big occasion and was busy running the fielders ragged from the moment he came in. Croft, who is playing because of the absence of Glen Chapple, Sajid Mahmood and James Anderson, showed outstanding maturity and it was his lofted drive over the boundary that released the tension in the dressing room.Warwickshire, with nothing to play for apart from pride, produced a solid batting effort although they struggled for boundaries after Mark Wagh and Naveed Poonia were separated following a bright stand of 96. Keedy nabbed himself a couple with a tidy spell, but Trott and Michael Powell formed a sensible partnership of 87. However, after missing out in last year’s C&G semi-final at Edgbaston, and picking up the tag of chokers in recent seasons, Lancashire have reached their first Lord’s final since 1998.

Michael Hussey expects the reverse-swing that rocked Australia’s 2005 Ashes campaign will not be such a significant factor this summer. Injuries to Simon Jones and Andrew Flintoff, who were lethal exponents of the movement last year, have given the hosts extra hope of regaining the urn and Hussey has provided another boost.”I don’t think it [reverse-swing] will be as big a factor,” Hussey, who is “itching” to make his debut against England, told . “The balls are different, the conditions are different.” Adelaide’s barren pitches help scuff the ball and the MCG offers some assistance, but the rest of Australia’s grounds seem unsuitable for the late movement that was a particular problem in England for the left-handers.Despite the prediction, Hussey, who was playing county cricket as Australia lost the series, said the batsmen were spending more time countering the often confusing tactic in the nets. “In the past, I don’t think too much notice was given to reverse-swing,” he said. “So the bowlers probably got the jump on the batsmen a little bit by really working on it and using it as a weapon. Now, hopefully, the batters can fight back by becoming better players of reverse-swing.”Steve Harmison took 11 wickets in the second Test against Pakistan last week and is likely to play a huge part in the Ashes, especially if Jones and Flintoff are missing. “His bowling’s definitely suited to the Australian conditions and having toured Australia before, he knows what to expect now,” Hussey said. “I think that will hold him in very good stead, so he will be one of their key bowlers for the tour.”

Division One

Points tableA thrilling game ended off the last ball at Southgate as Glamorgan edged past Middlesex to win by three wickets. Robert Croft got the Glamorgan innings off to a brisk start, clobbering 36, while Michael Powell continued his good form with a solid 81. Middlesex fought back in the middle of the innings, however, with Scott Styris picking up three wickets as Glamorgan stuttered to 201 for 7 in need of a further nine runs. James Franklin and Michael O’Shea held their heads and a four off the final ball of Chad Keegan’s sixth over took them home by three wickets. Earlier, Jamie Dalrymple anchored Middlesex with a cultured 82 – on the day he was called up to the England Test squad – while Ben Scott thumped 25 from 14 balls.

Division Two

Points tableA slick bowling display from Leicestershire dismissed Yorkshire for a paltry 96, in chase of 264, as the visitors romped to a comprehensive 167-run win at Scarborough. After Nick Walker and Ryan Cummins had reduced the home side to 19 for 3, Yorkshire were never in the hunt. With the introduction of Darren Maddy, who took 3 for 24 in a tight seven-over spell, Yorkshire collapsed from 70 for 5 to 96 all out in just the 27th over. Earlier, Paul Harrison and Paul Nixon gave Leicestershire a solid foundation in the middle of their innings with a pair of brisk 60s before Jeremy Snape smashed an unbeaten 45 from just 35 balls.James Benning’s crisp 71 from only 51 runs took Surrey to an emphatic six-wicket win over Kent at Guildford after a stuttering innings from the visitors in which they only managed 229 for 9. Though Darren Stevens played confidently for his 81, top-scoring, the rest of Kent’s batsmen started promisingly before throwing away their wickets. Geraint Jones, in a rare outing for his club, creamed seven pleasing boundaries in his 41 and Robert Key (33), the Kent captain, also looked in fine form before Nayan Doshi crept one through his defence. In the field Benning appeared to twist his knee in the latter stages of Kent’s innings, but he showed no signs of any long-term damage in his explosive 71, 15 of which came in boundaries. Mark Butcher eased his way into form with a crisp 52, hitting the winning runs through the covers, and received good supported from Mark Ramprakash (39), Rikki Clarke (23) and Azhar Mahmood (26*).

Zander de Bruyn, the South African allrounder, has been appointed captain of South African domestic side the Warriors. de Bruyn – who signed a two-year contract in May 2006 to play for the Eastern Cape Franchise – will replace Robin Peterson, the left-arm spinner, as captain.Russell Domingo, the Warriors coach, spoke highly of de Bruyn and added that he was the ideal candidate to replace Peterson, who is expected to be away on national duty regularly this season, starting with the Champions Trophy in India next month.”Zander brings a high work ethic and also a lot experience to the team,” Domingo told Supercricket. “He is very excited about his appointment and I know he will lead from the front in all aspects throughout the season.”de Bruyn entered the record books in 2003-04, when he became only the second player (after Barry Richards) in South African domestic cricket history to score over a thousand runs in a Supersport Series or Currie Cup season. He was rewarded with a call-up to the South African Test side in November 2004 for the tour of India. His Test career got off to an encouraging start, scoring 83 in his debut innings in Kanpur. However, he played only two Tests after that, his last at Port Elizabeth against England later that year.de Bruyn was upbeat about the season ahead. “I am very excited about taking on this responsibility of being captain of the Warriors and I am looking forward to the challenge ahead,” he said. “The guys are working hard and I really think it is going to be a good season for the team.”

Rudi Webster, the Grenada-based psychologist, is currently with the Indianteam for a short stint and is eager to carry on the interaction that beganon India’s tour of West Indies earlier this year.”This is my first visit to India,” Webster told Cricinfo after the team’spractice session at Jaipur in the Rajasthan Cricket Academy, “and I’menjoying it thoroughly. I enjoyed working with a few players when theywere in West Indies and can hopefully get some more time here.”One of the players who Webster closely interacted with during the WestIndies tour was Virender Sehwag, who’d been going through a lean phase atthe time. In his 19 innings before he met Webster, he’d crossed fifty justthree times and his lack of fitness was a serious concern. It’s fair tosay that the three-hour session transformed Sehwag during the tour and hehimself admitted, to at the end of the series:”If I hadn’t met Rudi on this tour, I was struggling. We spent aroundthree hours and I’ve never spoken to anyone so deeply.”It was surprising that Sehwag, who’d turned down an offer to interact withAustralian psychologist Sandy Gordon, felt so strongly about the meeting.”There’s a lot of difference between Sandy and Rudi,” he statedmatter-of-factly. “Rudi played county cricket for many years and workedwith great players. He knows more than Sandy about the game and players.He knows about the way sportsmen think. He’d worked with great playerslike [Brian] Lara, [Viv] Richards, great footballers, golf players . and it helped me alot.”The results were there for all to see. Post Webster, Sehwag spanked 95 inthe final one-dayer at Trinidad, a game when none of his team-matescrossed 30; thundered 180 on the opening day of the second Test at StLucia (reaching 99 in the opening morning and admitting he’d “not hit theball more cleanly than in that session”); chipped in with vital wickets inthe Tests, playing the role of a genuine fifth bowler; startled a few with hisemphasis on fitness; and, most significantly, appeared to settle into amantle of leadership.So what had prompted the change? “I needed to remind myself of some littlehabits,” Sehwag continued, “my thinking before a game, my mindset beforethe bowler bowls. There are certain things I used to visualise when thebowler was at the start of his mark, when he was running in, when he wasabout to deliver the ball. All your routines should be in place, for aparticular bowler, for a particular team, for a particular series.”Rudi was just chatting to me and I began recalling several things – ‘Iremember doing this in Pakistan’, ‘I did the same thing in Australia’. Iunderstood that I need to do these things for a longer time, need to do itcontinuously. He was telling me things I had done in the past, and I’dforgotten that. He told me how important it was to remember these things,said it would help if I wrote it down on a paper and read it over and overagain.”It helped that Webster had been following Sehwag’s career closely. “I’vebeen watching him play over the years,” he beamed, “and have been terriblyimpressed with his ability to hit the ball. Not many players have thatability. Viv Richards, who probably had a few more shots, comes theclosest. All great players have very simple methods and I was veryimpressed while watching Veeru.”Webster admitted that Sehwag had opened out to him. “My track recordprobably helped me to establish a rapport with him,” he revealed, “andonce he found that I was speaking his language, there was a belief that hefound. Once you establish a trust, and he believes in your credentials youwill find you’ll share a very good relationship with him. He discussed thingsthat he would probably not discuss with others.”Usually when people go into a little slump, a simple technique they usegoes through the window,” he continued. “All sorts of negative things gothrough their minds. They doubt themselves because of pressures from mediaand fans. Their thinking becomes negative. They forget some basic routinesthat brought them success.”

Shane Watson must think carefully before trying one of his favourite pull shots in Sunday’s Champions Trophy final against West Indies, according to John Buchanan. Watson has been out pulling three times from his four innings in the tournament, including against West Indies when Ian Bradshaw had him caught at mid-on attempting a pull before he had scored.”There’s probably three or four times, if we go back to [the DLF Cup in] Malaysia, that Shane has played a cross-batted shot early in his innings,” Buchanan told . “Again it’s one of his strong shots, he cuts well and he pulls well and often your strength can be your weakness.”I think it’s not necessarily a case of putting it in the closet, it’s a case of actually using it at the appropriate time. Probably the times he has been dismissed on it have been very, very early in his innings. So maybe the decision making at that point in time, not necessarily the execution,” Buchanan said.Watson was again lured into a pull shot when he was yet to get off the mark in the semi-final against New Zealand and he was caught at mid-off. Ricky Ponting said Watson would learn from his mistakes. “He didn’t really know the pace and bounce of the [pitch],” Ponting said.”It was one of the first balls he faced for the innings, so opening or batting in the top order against the new ball you can be a bit surprised with the pace and the bounce. I think that’s what’s happened with Shane. He’ll learn. I’ve defended him right the way through and I’ll keep doing it. The way he played against India [scoring 50] is the way we know he can play, and I think long term for us he’ll be a very good option up there.”

A typically elegant, clipped on-drive for four off Corey Collymore took Mohammad Yousuf from 44 to 48 on the fourth day of the final Test between Pakistan and the West Indies at Karachi. A modest raise of the bat acknowledged that the drive also took him past one of the longest-standing records in cricket, of most runs in a calendar year.Sir Viv Richards scored 1710 runs in 1976, a memorable run during which he hit two double hundreds against England in England and the closest anyone had come to it since was Ricky Ponting in 2005, with 1544 runs.By day’s end, Yousuf added another century to the eight he had made already this year. He told reporters at the end of the day, “God has helped me break this record and I am extremely happy and proud for my country because whenever the record is discussed now, it will be with the name of a Pakistani batsman.”The day began with Yousuf needing a further 47 runs to break the record and knowing it too. “I was under a little pressure in the morning,” he admitted. “I knew what had to be done and luckily I was able to do it in the end.”Yousuf’s final tally for the year is 1788 runs from 11 Tests, and 665 of them have come from the series against West Indies, the highest tally recorded by a Pakistani batsman in a three-Test series. He began his run with two hundreds in the home series against India. He only played a solitary Test in Sri Lanka, personally an unmemorable one, but a doublecentury at Lord’s sparked off a stunning second half of the year.Two more hundreds came from the remaining three Tests in England, including 192 at Headingley. He ended the year with three hundreds in three Tests against the West Indies at home.During the course of this magnificent run, a few more records fell. His first-innings hundred at Karachi meant that he had scored eight Test hundreds this year alone, going past the previous best of seven, held jointly by Richards and Aravinda de Silva. By scoring five hundreds in five consecutive Tests, he also became only the third man, along with Jacques Kallis and Sir Don Bradman (six hundreds in six Tests) to do so.Yousuf also had praise for Bob Woolmer, Pakistan’s coach, and Mushtaq Ahmed for the part they have played in his game over the last year. “I changed the way I practiced. Mushy really helped during the England tour and in India,” he said. “He made me practice with slabs to be able to play rising deliveries better and that has really helped.”Since Bob has been with us, he has really sorted out my balance. I used to have some problems with it before but he has really helped me set it properly now and it was a big change.”Comparisons with greats were avoided as deftly as bouncers have been over the last year. When asked to compare himself with Javed Miandad, Yousuf said only, “It is difficult to compare. You are either better or worse and anyway, it is for the media to decide. I can’t say anything about it. But he is my ideal.” And when the question of Sir Don Bradman’s record of six hundreds in six consecutive Tests reared its head, Yousuf replied, withsome cheek, “I have six in five Tests, so you decide.”Reactions to the record

Bob Woolmer
It is a marvellous achievement. I have had the honour of playing againstViv Richards and coaching Yousuf. Both are very different in their styles,Viv was a lot more aggressive and Yousuf more sedate but to break Viv’srecord is really an outstanding achievement.Brian Lara
It’s excellent and slightly unbelievable what he has achieved. Ninehundreds in a year and that many runs is just magnificent. He is a verycommitted player and an excellent role model, not just for Pakistan butfor young cricketers everywhere. He’s had an amazing year, though the last600 runs that he has scored I haven’t really enjoyed.Sanjay Manjrekar
The most striking thing about Yousuf at the moment is that it is as if heis batting in a trance. He is so calm at the crease and that mental changeis the most striking change from last year. You know people will say thathe played on flat tracks, against weak attacks at times but that isneither here nor there. He still had to break a big record and he has doneit. What’s good to see, apart from the calm demeanour, is that he is, like all goodbatsmen, cashing in on good form and making the most of that period.”Nasim Ashraf
Pakistan is very proud of his achievements and he will be honoured by thePCB after the match.Hanif Mohammad
We are proud of what he has done and I hope this is the start of ofsomething great for him.Rameez Raja
He’s been absolutely brilliant this year and has done it against goodteams in India, England and the West Indies and has done it home and away.I don’t think he has made any technical adjustments as such, but he is so sound mentally now. Religion has played an integral part in his growth not just as a cricketer but as a person. I used to doubt his ability to see Pakistan through in situations before but he has rescuedPakistan from precarious positions through the year. A superb achievement.

Hampshire’s home ground, the Rose Bowl, has moved one step closer to hosting Test matches after being granted provisional category A status. The move follows a report by an ECB inspection team, but England won’t be pulling on the whites on the south coast until the venue has met a series of stringent measures which includes improving access.One year prior to hosting a Test the ground must have completed the development work recently outlined and provided a second road into the venue with additional parking. Transport arrangements have been the subject of heavy criticism at previous one-day and Twenty20 Internationals held at the Rose Bowl.The pitch will also come under scrutiny and any future Test surface must pass inspection by the ECB pitches consultant and two pitch liaison officers one year before the match. The club must also show that the profits from hosting the matches will be ploughed back into new facilities.Rod Bransgrove, the Hampshire chairman, said: “This is a momentous day for Hampshire Cricket and the Rose Bowl. We plan to invest a further £35 million in this venue to make it one of the leading Test match venues in world cricket and are pleased that the innovation which this venue delivers for cricket in England and Wales has been recognised with the award of this accredited status.”We must now continue the hard work to deliver a spectacular international sports and entertainment resort with Test match cricket at its heart. Our plans take cricket at the Rose Bowl ‘beyond first class’ and will provide fans with the exciting prospect of seeing the world’s best in action at an outstanding world-class international cricket ground.”David Collier, the ECB chief executive added: “The Rose Bowl is an exciting new venue with international quality floodlights and impressive development plans which seek to create a truly world class cricket facility.”

Brian Lara has reiterated that he’s unlikely to play any one-dayers after the World Cup and hoped he could make a sizeable contribution in the matches leading up to the event. Lara also hailed Marlon Samuels, who rediscovered his sizzling touch with a fine century, and urged his side to carry on their good form and level the series at Karachi.Samuels, who smashed his first half-century after a drought spanning close to three-and-a-half years, came in for special mention. “I ‘m very happy and proud, not just satisfied,” Lara said. “He has been having a tough time with the bat this year and to come out with such a magnificent century shows a lot of class and hopefully he can carry it on from here. What we need now is consistency, we’ve got very, very important cricket over the next six months in the one-day arena and we’ll be asking him to come up trumps on a few occasions.”It shows his potential, for him more than anybody else or the team. I think it shows what he’s capable of. What he needs to do now is to put it together more often than not and now we’ve seen it and we’re going to be asking him to produce and not necessarily that he has to produce a top performance like that but in the one-day internationals, you need everyone contributing and I think this is going to do his confidence a whole heap of good.”Lara wasn’t required to do much with the bat today, after Samuels and Shivnarine Chanderpaul had dominated the bulk of the run-chase, but admitted that his form had been sketchy. “I don’t mind going out with 30 to 40 runs to score each and every single game,” said Lara who’s failed to cross 15 the last seven times he’s walked out to bat. “I’m 37 years old and I know I have to make a contribution and I’m looking forward to the next few games. I’m not sure if I am going to be playing any one-day cricket after the World Cup so I think it’s coming up to a very important period for West Indies cricket and I would be looking to make my contribution.”The seven-wicket win at Multan was West Indies’ first win on this tour and Lara was more than relieved after the game. “I think it has been long in coming,” he said. “We should have won that game in Lahore with the Duckworth/Lewis (method) giving Pakistan 191 to get in 35 overs. It was definitely in our favour, especially with how the pitch was playing, but coming here today I thought the guys showed a lot of character being 2-0 down.”It’s been a very long tour and I thought the effort today was exceptional, we played without a couple of our main strike bowlers in Jerome Taylor [rested] and Corey Collymore [flu virus] but you saw [Daren] Powell with his best bowling figures in one-day internationals coming in and bowling really well and also Dave Mohammed in his first game bowled well. All in all I’m quite happy and proud of the performance and we must take it into Karachi to level the series.